New defender German Mera's paperwork moving quickly, could arrive next week

The Rapids’ recently-signed defender Germán Mera, joining the club on loan from Deportivo Cali in Colombia, is expected to arrive in Colorado in about a week, according to Rapids Technical Director Paul Bravo.

Mera was signed on Monday, May 6 just before Major League Soccer’s first transfer window closed that day, meaning his international transfer certificate (ITC) has already been submitted. This week the team learned that his work visa has been approved by authorities. All that remains before the player can travel to the United States is the filing of some paperwork and having appointment scheduled at the embassy in Bogotá.

“We’ll do some work on our end to push that date up, so I would expect another seven days before he’s here with us,” Bravo told ColoradoRapids.com on Tuesday.

The roughly two-week time period between Mera’s signing and his arrival in Denver is not out of the ordinary, says Bravo.

“This is the normal process,” said Bravo. “We could’ve brought him in as a trialist and then changed his status once he got here, but because we were on short time, we needed to get the paperwork done. So we chose to go the second route, which is to get the player sorted out before he comes into the country.”

Mera, 23, is either a central or left-sided defender, who has played in the Colombian top division for the last three years. Once eligible to be added to the roster he will occupy the team's last international slot.